Israel’s election chief says results stand amid Likud interference allegations

Israel’s election commission chief has said the country’s general election results will remain valid even if suspicions of foreign interference are confirmed. The statement came as Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party challenged the outcome of Tuesday’s vote, which left both the prime minister’s bloc and the opposition short of enough seats to form a government alone.

Noam Sohlberg, who heads the Central Elections Committee, outlined the commission’s position in a video released on Sunday. Appearing alongside the head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, and the attorney general, he said substantiated suspicions would not compromise the integrity of the electoral process or the overall results.

Likud alleged, without presenting evidence, that Arab-led parties had stolen the election and received money from Qatar to do so. Those parties made significant gains in the vote. Qatar denied the accusations and described them as part of a disinformation campaign.

Separately, Israeli police on Sunday released two of three political activists who had been arrested before polling began on Tuesday. Police said the activists were carrying envelopes containing cash allegedly intended to bribe voters. One of the two was released subject to unspecified conditions, while the other was placed under house arrest.

According to police, the suspects had links to Ra’am, an Arab-led party that secured eight parliamentary seats. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas condemned the arrests as undemocratic, describing them as “an attempt to influence the election results”.

Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot also criticised Netanyahu on Sunday, accusing him of conducting an “orchestrated and organised campaign to delegitimise the results”. Eisenkot has previously rejected the prospect of building a coalition with Arab parties, but the election outcome means their support could help him form a government.

Netanyahu’s bloc took 53 seats in the 120-member parliament, compared with 48 for the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot. The three Arab-led parties together won a record 19 seats. A coalition bringing them together with Eisenkot’s bloc would hold 67 seats, a comfortable parliamentary majority, although cooperation with Arab parties remains politically unpalatable to many in Israel.

Official certification of the election results is expected this week. Once that process is complete, President Isaac Herzog must select a candidate to attempt to form the next government.